The Virgin Islands has won a federal grant that will allow the territory to continue developing a proposed marine science research facility at Salt River Bay on St. Croix, Gov. John deJongh Jr. announced Thursday.

According to a statement released by Government House, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs recently awarded the Virgin Islands $150,000 through its Coral Reef Initiative, which finances conservation and management projects in insular territories. The money is for continued development of a marine research and education center at the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve.

“This grant is great news for the territory,” deJongh said. “It will help us move forward on a project that will facilitate important research on St. Croix’s natural marine environment and archeological treasures, as well as position the territory to be a world leader in training oceanographers, marine biologists, archeologists and other researchers.”

The Virgin Islands government submitted a proposal on June 28 seeking funding to carry out, along with its partners, the next steps in developing the Salt River Bay Marine Research Center on a 96-acre site on the eastern edge of Salt River Bay.

The proposed 60,000-square foot campus will support marine research and education programs for undergraduate and graduate university students, as well as welcome younger local students to learn about the marine environment. The center will also include an archeological field school highlighting Caribbean studies.

Plans for the center began in the Clinton administration. The campus will house 48 undergraduate students and 12 researchers and graduate students. Plans also call for 12 lab modules to support marine science research projects.

In addition to supporting science-based management for two marine parks on St. Croix (East End Marine Park and Buck Island National Park), the center will educate V.I. students and promote public awareness of the economic and cultural heritage of the tropical oceans.

The project is a partnership between the V.I. Government, National Park Service, the federal Office of Insular Affairs and a consortium of universities – including the University of the Virgin Islands and three stateside schools, known collectively as the Joint Institute for Caribbean Marine Studies.